Past Event

Steamboat Springs  Just three weeks ago, accomplished triathlete Wendy Mader, still relaxing after winning the annual Steamboat Springs Triathlon on her first try, lamented that she didn’t make more trips to the Yampa Valley.

“I just never come up here, and it’s so close,” the Fort Collins athlete said, soaking in a warm day on the shores of Lake Catamount. “It’s only a three-hour drive, and it’s a beautiful drive.”

She didn’t waste much time in plotting a return visit.

Last time, Mader added her victory in Steamboat’s triathlon to a first-place finish she’d collected the day before in the Iron Girl Triathlon in Boulder. The 13-time Ironman finisher will be in Steamboat Springs this weekend for another jaw-dropping endurance feat, the Run Rabbit Run 50-mile trail ultramarathon.

Before she launches on that daunting task, however, she’ll speak at 6 p.m. Thursday at a free event in the Steamboat Pilot & Today conference room, 1901 Curve Plaza.

Mader — who crushed Steamboat’s course in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 36 seconds to win by nearly five minutes — will speak about how a successful triathlete can balance training with the rigors of everyday life.

“A lot of athletes struggle finding that balance in their lives, and bringing in someone with as much experience as Wendy will be great for them,” event organizer Joy Rasmussen said. “A lot of these people have been training all year, then they get to our Olympic distance triathlon and say, ‘Now what?’ Wendy’s talk can help energize those people and encourage them to set their sights on something next year. There area lot of races out there people can register for and this can help them continue on that wave of training.”